Elevator Love

Chapter 2

Lola was laying on Irene’s lap while she was reading a book. Irene stroke her furry with one hand, she held the book with the other. Touching and stroking her was some kind of a therapy to her. She believed that cats had this effect on humans and even read it once in her textbooks. Lola was chilled and relaxed on her lap until she heard a loud noise which startled her – as well as Irene. She easily got scared of lots of things in everyday life wherefore her friends made fun of her from time to time. Don’t misunderstand, she didn’t have a weak character, but she wasn’t the strongest neither.
Irene turned her head to where the noise came from. She embraced Lola in her arms and walked to the door. It was very unusual to hear noises at night in her floor since she lived alone. There were three apartments altogether in her floor. One apartment was always empty since she moved in and a pair moved out last month from the other one. Usually, it’d be silent in this hour because her neighbours from other floors barely stepped her floor. When they did, it’d be in the daylight, because they knew Irene didn’t like talking to people when it’s too late.
Peeking through the hole in her door, she tried to understand where the noise came from, but at first sight there was nobody. She leaned back and peeked again. Irene couldn’t clearly see the scenario, but she was sure, someone walked into the apartment which lay to her right side. Irene slightly frowned “Guess we have a new neighbour, Lola.” She whispered to her cat, who just meowed at her. The sight made Irene feel uncomfortable. She didn’t like having neighbours in the same floor. It wasn’t like she principally hated them. It was the fact, that the knowing them process was too long for her. She had no energy to measure what kind of a person it may be, therefore preferred living alone- without any kind of stranger, social interaction.
The next morning Irene stretched her whole body and took a morning shower afterwards. Then, she prepared herself breakfast while she gave Lola her morning cat food. She stroke her for a moment, before she gave her full attention to her breakfast. Munching her cereal, a slight frown formed between her eyebrows. She hurriedly rushed to the door as she heard a noise again and peeked. A woman was coming out of the door and waited in front of the elevator. So, we have a female neighbour. Irene thought and moved back since she felt like a stalker. The fact, that it was a female made Irene feel slightly relieved. She could deal easier with women than men. The male species was something to her, she could not come along with. Not that they are complicated, but very easy to handle. You just have to activate their testosterone hormones, if you want something. Then, they become the nicest person on earth. Irene found that system very easy working and saw women as the higher developed species.
Weekend meant for Irene – seeing her parents. She wanted to give them a short visit before heading to her part-time job. After finishing her breakfast, playing with Lola and dressing up, she bid her goodbye to her cat with a smile and made her way out. She loved the way how Lola just stared and meowed at her whenever she waved to her. Irene knew she was speaking to her and even she couldn’t exactly understand her words, she still got the message.
Irene stepped into the elevator and pressed the button. The door was slowly getting closed but stopped by a foot which startled Irene. A man with a backpack, black cap and black face mask stepped in. He was dressed all black beside his white sneakers. Irene frowned and unknowingly took a few steps behind. She didn’t know him, so sudden fear filled her whole body. She clearly saw that her neighbour was a female and she left a few hours ago. So, who was this person? Maybe he moved into the other apartment? He stood in front of her and pressed the button to close the door. The ride downstairs might be the longest Irene experienced until now. Literally no one stepped in, they were the only ones the whole time. Irene let out a relieved breath, when they finally arrived the ground-floor. The man left the building without talking to her.
Irene’s parents were always generous when it came to their daughter. They always supported and loved her regardless of her individual decisions. She loved her mother’s cooking skills since she was a little kid and the fact, she always got something to eat delicious whenever she visited them made her happy. It was almost 2pm already when she left her parents’ house. She made it right on point to her part-time job.
“Lucky you, hm?” Her chef greeted her when she came half panting to the coffee shop. She slightly smiled and went to the backside to take her apron. It was a chilly working day for Irene although it was a Saturday which surprised her. Usually the weekends were the fullest in the shop. She wiped the counter before someone signalised her to come by shouting. “Yes.” Irene responded and put the washcloth aside. She hurried to the table and took out the mini notebook to take their order.
“Hmm…I guess I’ll take a strawberry cake and macchiato.” The woman told her while she noddingly wrote her order down. “What about you, jagiya?” The women asked the man in front of her. Irene finally raised her head to take a closer look to them. They seemed familiar, but Irene couldn’t clearly identify them. The woman smiled at her and also took his order since he was not quite presently existent “Americano.” She said. Irene smilingly bowed slightly and walked back to bring their orders.
Behind the counter, Irene kept observing them and poutingly thought of who they could be with a slight frown. She flinched slightly when the woman banged on the table with her hand. She turned her head towards their table. It seemed like they were arguing. The man looked quite annoyed while the woman had a pissed face. “Irene, look after table number 2.” Her chef shouted from behind. “Yes.” Irene responded and took her notebook. When she brought the order for table number 2, the woman was already gone, and the man was left behind. After a few seconds the man stood up and put his cap and face mask on. Irene widened her eyes as she remembered him. It was the man in the elevator that morning. She thought deeper and finally remembered that she saw the woman coming out of the apartment door next to her. So, that meant, they were her new neighbours. “How much do I owe?” The man asked her in front of her, taking his wallet out. Irene tipped their order in the monitor “6,50 in total.” She said. The man handed her 10 “Keep the rest.” He said and left the shop. Irene didn’t know how to feel about a couple who was not in good terms. It meant countless fights and discussions. She just hoped, they wouldn’t be loudly doing so until late nights.
After her shift ended, Irene made her way to the grocery store to buy cats food and noodles for herself. She walked through the shelved and took out her favourite products. Irene loved checking and scanning through the shelves for various products. She believed 70% of all products were unnecessary and just too much for a human body to handle, but what could she do against a capitalist system who makes people believe they need everything of them. Irene walked over to the liquids and grabbed a mineral water to drink on her way home. Standing in front of the counter to pay, she noticed on her left a weird scenario. The man, who is likely supposed to be her new neighbour, was standing outside with another girl than she saw at the coffee shop. She slightly frowned as she observed the scenario. He was wearing his cap differently than before and no face mask, which made him appear less dangerous. And he was smiling to the girl. What the hell, is he cheating on her? Irene thought, but quickly remembered that it was not her business “Thank you for your visit.” The cashier told her. Irene smiled and took her bags.
Standing outside of the grocery shop, she remembered that she had to pass the two to walk to her apartment. She sighed slightly but walked the direction anyway. Nearing them, she noticed how the girl handed cash money to him which made her feel nervous. Especially the way he took the money as if he tried to hide it made her feel so. Irene could notice how the man glanced at her when she passed them and walked around the corner.
Irene thought of possibilities why someone would hand cash money to another person on the street. One, she owned him money. Two, she was borrowing money. Three, she was paying him over something he did. And like every other human being, Irene persisted on the third option and made her feel anxious. She entered her building and pressed the elevator button to arrive. Her knees shaking impatiently as she stared to the blinking number. She wanted to quickly make home. Finally, the elevator arrived which made her smile and step in. When she turned around in the elevator, she saw that the man also entered it and pressed the button. The number to her stick. Irene slightly widened her eyes and gulped. The man didn’t wear his face mask, so she saw how he was lightly nodding to her when he entered the elevator.
Her heart was thumping fast due to his presence. It was normal for her to feel so since she didn’t know what kind of a person he was. The possibility was high that he might be a criminal. When they finally arrived at her stick, Irene moved forward to leave the elevator. To her surprise the man blocked her way by sticking his feet to the side. Irene frowned and tried to walk herself out, but suddenly he grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the elevator wall. Irene felt panicked and anxious as she widened her eyes. The bag in her hand fell because he was holding her both wrists and looked to her face with a fierce expression. Irene felt her heart thumping even faster. “What did you see?” He asked. Irene was staring at his chest with a startled expression since she didn’t dare to look at his face. His grip tightened. “I asked, what you saw before.” He asked again. Irene parted her lips “I…no-nothing.” She answered. The man loosened his grip around her wrist after hearing her voice. He wasn’t holding her wrist anymore, but still stood very close in front of her, scanning her face. Irene turned her head to her right after hearing a beep sound which signalised for the door to be closed. She gulped when she realised that he had no intentions to move away. Irene slowly raised her head. The man’s facial expression softened slightly when her eyes met his. Irene lowered her gaze again. She prayed for someone to enter the elevator and peeked to the display. They were going down, still on the 5th stick. Irene’s chest was moving up and down because of her anxious breathing. She flinched when he raised his left arm and tightly closed her eyes. She slowly opened them again when she felt a sudden touch on her right cheek. She immediately brushed his hand off her cheek and frowned. She walked over to the buttons and wanted to press to the 3rd stick, so she could get out, but the man was faster and pressed number 8 which was their floor. “You have to forget what you saw.” She heard him behind her. Irene frowned “I…I didn’t see anything.” She responded. What was he even referring to? Was it the money issue or the girl? Irene looked at the display, the elevator was moving down instead of moving up. She clenched her jaw. Somebody might press the button from the ground-floor which meant, she had to ride another 8 floors with him. She turned around and picked her bag from the ground. The man picked the can for her cat and handled it to her. “Thank you.” Irene said, almost in a whisper. The man nodded. He was leaning against the wall in front of her. Irene looked to the floor, trying to avoid any eye contact with him, but she could feel his gaze on her the whole time. The door opened at the ground floor which made Irene look to the side. She slightly widened her eyes after seeing the woman standing there who was looking at the man which made her look at him, too. Why is he still looking at me? Irene corrected her pose and moved to the back to make space for the woman. “Donghae?” The woman called which made him turn his head. Irene could see the annoyance in his face the moment he saw her.